The documentary film Los castores / The Beavers (pictured) by Nicolás Molina and Antonio Luco was awarded the prize for Best Chilean film at the 21st edition of the Valdivia Film Festival, it was announced today.

The film follows Derek and Giorgia, a young couple of biologists, settle in Tierra del Fuego, to develop their thesis. Loaded with traps and a video camera, they research how to stop a plague of beavers that is devastating the area. The beavers observe these scientists, isolated, exposed to the cold and hunger, just like their prey, exploring the link between nature and humans.

Carolina García Bloj's Respirar helado was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Chilean competition. In the official international competition, the Mexican film El resto del mundo by Pablo Chavarría was the winner of the Special Jury Prize, while the Chilean film Matar a un hombre / To Kill a Man by Alejandro Fernández Almendras won the Audience Award.

The 21st edition the Valdivia Film Festival took place October 7-12 in Chile.

Cinema Tropical's programs are made possible with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. They are also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowments for the Arts, and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.